


Funerary traditions of alterian highbloods

by merryrogue



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Blood, Death, F/M, Funerals, Is in a script form, also, first time please be gentle, nobody makes out, script, this is me cleaning up skype rants, treating makuras as people, why are you reading this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-26
Updated: 2016-01-26
Packaged: 2018-05-16 07:39:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5819905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merryrogue/pseuds/merryrogue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's cannon that trolls just leave bodies to rot. </p>
<p>That didn't make any sense to me, so have highbloods being sad about people being dead.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Funerary traditions of alterian highbloods

Most funerals on alteria are for lower blooded quadrants, so that is where I will focus. (See page 234 for battle burials, bureaucratic).

After life sign had not been detected for more than an hour (see page 20, death sleep, psychic) a death drone will be sent to retrieve the corpse for sanitation reasons. Fighting the drone for the corpse is a common romantic trope, often with the highblood in question believing their beloved is still alive.

 

_Young looking GHB leaning over hair over face, head comes up fast with murderous expression, long shot of GHB leaping at drone’s face_

They are never right, of course.

_body bleeding and crushed in drone’s hand, which has indigo blood on it_

While it is illegal to reclaim a quadrants body from the corpse recycling, there are ways of obtaining access, most of them though the followers of the mirthful messiahs.

_Money being passed between hands, one of which has sublagator arm bands – these hands are giving GHB similar armbands in trade_

Traditionally the corpse is buried under a place that the now-corpse would meet the quadrant burying them while alive, but there are also cases of the underground rooms common in lowblood lawnrings being used as tombs, with the destruction of the above ground building an outlet for the highblood’s grief-rage.

The corpse is left to rot for 15 to 100 years, until the bones are clear of flesh. They are then considered above blood color in life, and thus legal to wear gold and/or gems. ( See page 42 for gold silver, symbolize) often a current quadrant will give some of their jewelry to be melted and reformed for the past quadrant - it is considered a very thoughtful gift, and a good lack of jealousy on the living’s part.

_Condie handing GHB some of her jewels - he has a digital looking pattern tattooed or carved into his skin around the neck - hard to see, but it's a pink color_

It is assumed that the dead troll has now understood that they have died and how to see and hear using their bones – the week or so after the bones have been cleaned is considered a very romantic reunion, and most trolls will take the time off to reconnect with passed quadrants, often cleaning and dressing their bones themselves while explaining everything that has changed sense they passed. (see 34, highbloods, Osteology, cultural)

_GHB holding a skull with Their horns very tenderly, the skull has quite a bit of jewelry on it, some with pink purple stones – there are bones on the table also with jewelry - think aztec_

While have the entire skeleton nearby is the ideal, it is difficult and puts the dead quadrant in danger, leading most to keep the skull close and the body somewhere safe, often the place they were kept during the rotting.

Much though has been given to weather this upsets or hurts the dead quadrant – those that can hear the dead has assured us that this causes no harm, and in fact is somewhat soothing, given that they can no longer move their bodies.

While most trolls cannot hear the dead, talking to and displaying affection for the dead quadrant’s skull is perfectly normal, though considered very private as a widely held belief that it is more intense for the dead. (early programmers would have a dead quadrant nearby, in order to explain the code to them and figure out where they had gone wrong, in a long standing tradition of dead quadrants filling in as morials)

_skull on a pillow on a desk, as GHB does paperwork and bitches about it_

Occasionally a dead quadrant’s body will need to be moved, after natural disasters or the land having been assigned to a wiggler, or taken over as a base for an army.

**_hey m1ndfang, could you come look at th1s? Some of the guys found some “we1rd h1ghblood th1ng" and the dead talkers are say1ing there’s a really angry ghost..._ **

 

Moving a dead quadrant that is not your own is seen as a cull worthy rudeness unless it is completely necessary, and often tongs or eastern eating sticks are used to avoid touching the bones themselves.

_Mindfang carefully, almost reverently moving each bone to a padded box, in order, starting with the feet. summoner watches, somewhat confused – he’s never seen her be that gentle with anything, including herself_

Many highbloods have reported being able to hear dead quadrants in times of great necessity, such as their bodies being moved without permission.

_GHB’s head snapping up, to look at Their skull on the desk_

Many highbloods will attack trolls moving dead quadrant’s bones without any thought or planning, and are more easily subdued, adding the weight of a low blow to the stigma of doing so.

_A bruised, bloodied, shocked summoner looking at a bound, frothing at the mouth GHB – think azula. Their skull is being picked up with a cloth (her jacket) by mindfang, who is also bloody- she looks somewhat guilty but satisfied_.

If it is possible, the body should be returned as soon as can be managed to the living quadrant.

 

_Mindfang enters the room GHB is being kept in with Their bone box and skull (still on her coat) on a tray. She places them on a stool in a corner by the door, out of GHB’s reach but in his sight. She bows to them, her back to GHB. She turns to go._

“ARANEA.”

_GHB tilts his head forward – it could be a bow._

“THANK YOU.”

_Mindfang pauses, then leaves._

  _GHB looks at their skull._

"ILL BE THERE SOON ENOUGH." 

_Fade out on GHB laughing- Guards are unnerved._

**Author's Note:**

> Yo.


End file.
